Christian Horner hosts BBQ for all F1 drivers but half the grid don’t show up

Christian Horner was left red-faced after he was snubbed by around half the Formula One grid while hosting a barbecue at his home during the British Grand Prix weekend. The Red Bull team principal organised the event, which took place after qualifying on Saturday, with all 20 drivers being invited to come along.

Horner owns two houses which are relatively close to the Silverstone circuit, with his Oxfordshire residence less than an hour’s drive away from the iconic British Grand Prix venue. It is not known which drivers turned up to Horner’s barbecue, although it can be assumed that the Red Bull duo of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were likely to have been among those in attendance.

Several of their rivals opted to stay away, though, as Horner revealed that only about 10 drivers accepted his invitation to the barbecue in spite of his insistence that everybody was welcome to enjoy the food on offer.

“No, no, about half the grid,” said Horner when asked if he was joined by all 20 drivers for the event. He went on to explain that he was intrigued by the conversations that took place between those who did attend as he spoke about what happened after the end of Sunday’s race.

“You could see that he [Verstappen] enjoyed racing with Lando today,” reflected the Red Bull boss. “There was a lot of respect between the two. He’s a racer, he likes to race.

“I had all the drivers at my house for a barbecue last night and you immediately see that they immediately start talking about the moments on the track, what happened here and there, even about what happened in Formula Three or in karting.”

Red Bull enjoyed a highly successful race at Silverstone the day after Horner’s barbecue, with Verstappen taking the chequered flag to register his sixth straight victory despite being given an early scare by Norris. The Dutchman was overtaken by his McLaren rival off the line and trailed for a few laps but quickly managed to restore order thanks to the superior pace of his Red Bull machinery.

Verstappen’s latest victory saw him move 99 points clear of Perez in the Drivers’ Championship standings, with the 25-year-old now almost certain to make it a hat-trick of titles at the end of this year. The result also extended Red Bull’s winning streak to 11 races, which equalled McLaren’s long-standing record set in 1988 when they had Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost behind the wheel.

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